Elliott Prior, 4, was in the mall with his 6-year-old sister, Amelie, and mother, Amber, when terrorists struck in Nairobi, Kenya. / Sayyid Azim, AP

by John Bacon, USA TODAY

by John Bacon, USA TODAY

The bloody siege at a Kenyan shopping mall hasn't ended yet, but already stories of heroism and courage are emerging.

The Kenyan Red Cross reports that 62 people have been killed since the al-Qaeda-linked Somali militants stormed Nairobi's Westgate Shopping Mall on Saturday. Britain's Daily Mail reports that a former Royal Marine is being credited with saving scores of lives in the moments after the attack began. The man, who was not identified, was having coffee in the mall when the attack began.

"What he did was so heroic," an unidentified friend of the man told the Daily Mail. "He went back in 12 times and saved 100 people. Imagine going back in when you knew what was going on inside."

Elliott Prior, 4, was in the mall with his 6-year-old sister, Amelie, and mother, Amber, who was shot in the leg, when they were approached by a terrorist, Britain's The Sun reports.

"You're a bad man, let us leave," the boy reportedly told the man. The Sun says the militant took pity on the family, giving them candy and letting the leave, saying: "Please forgive me, we are not monsters."

A widely circulated photo shows Elliott in an "I (heart) NY" T-shirt outside the mall after fleeing with his mother and sister.